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Islamized by their respective trade   Sultan Suryansyah (1525). Banjarmasin   political and economic situation of trading   Clearly the latter is said by Hikayat   The Grand Mosque
 communities, whose number and   Sultanate was then established.  cities on the north coastal regions of Java.  Patani, “only idolatrous and eating pork   of Demak before the
 political role continued to grow. Ternate   The Islamization of the palaces of   It is understandable that scholars of   that were abandoned; other than that, all   construction of its
 was finally Islamized throughthe close   Patani and the royal twin Gowa-  comparative religions would give a   pagan work remained unchanged.”  minaret.
 trade relations with Java. Being the   Tallo as mentioned by traditional   negative reaction to the simplification of   But in both patterns of religious   Source: Atlas Sejarah
 “Prime Minister” of Gowa, King Tallo’s   historiography of the two regions, which   the process of conversion as described   conversion, the power centers, whether   Indonesia Masa Islam
 affinity with the teachings of Islam was   is also justified by other sources,    above. For religious conversions could   in the form of districts located on the   (Historical Atlas of
 41
 propagated by hisMuslim community,   reflects the king’s recognition of a   not be seen as a transfer of political   edges of rivers or the relatively centralized   Indonesia’s Islamic
 as then in 1605 he accepted Islam and   possibility given by Islam to overcome   parties with differing political programs.   maritime empire, play their role as the   Period), 2010.
 persuaded the king of Gowa to follow. 39  the cultural and economic problems   But what is important is that these types   “crossing bridge” or “beachhead” of

 Conversions to Islam in Banjarmasin,   at that time, whereas Islamization of   of cultural encounters and conversion   Islamization for the surrounding areas.
 as told in the Hikayat Banjar,  were   Ternate clearly demonstrates their   processes that seem to vary show   In the Islamization process of the bridge,
 40
 driven by urgent need felt by Pangeran   economic motives. Perhaps, this was   a very impressive similarity. Unlike   one can clearly talk about the peaceful
 Samudera, the crown prince of Daha   also driven by the interests of traders   in Samudera Pasai, the Islamization   penetration of Islam, or arguing whether
 state. After the old king’s demise, i.e.   and the Muslim preachers to win the   processes in Malacca, Gowa-Tallo and   traders or Sufis-travelers who became
 his father, the throne was taken by   “race with Christianity” as suggested   so forth, did not provide the basis for the   major carriers of “revelations”, or whether
 42
 his uncle. He himself was only a local   by Schrieke.  While the Islamization   establishment of power centers or, say, a   Islam came directly from Arabia or
 authority in Banjar, which was a region   process in Banjarmasin seems to   state. Islam does not transform a village   possibly via India or even from China.
 conquered as a vassal state of Daha.   justify the renowned opinion of van   into a new form of power organization, as   The nature of the Islamization of the
 43
 In such a disposal Pangeran Samudera   Leur. The Islamization process, he said,   happened in Samudera Pasai. Religious   surrounding areas had started to
 asked for military help to Demak, which   is sociologically (as if all the causes of   conversion was run at the power center   depend on the internal dynamics as well
 had attained the hegemony in Java   social events were only legitimate to be   that had been previously there.  as external pressures of the subsequent
 after the fall of Majapahit. The Sultan   found merely within the dynamics of the   So, from a comparison of the various   “crossing bridges”. And this can take
 of Demak would only help Pengeran   social world) driven by political interests.   types of Islamization process and the   place in an atmosphere of peace or not.
 Samudera if he promised to embrace   This case refers to van Leur’s competing   establishment of those states, there   Efforts of Samudera-Pasai to Islamize
 Islam. After he expressed his readiness,   41. The Islamization process according to traditions   appear two dominant patterns. The first   interior regions may not only be driven
 Demak sent their troops to punish Daha   in the regions, see Rusel Jones, “Ten Conversion   is the situation in which Islam plays a   by religious fervors, but can also be
 Myths  from  Indonesia”  dalam  Nehemia  Levtzion
 and raised Pangeran Samudera as   (eels.)  Conversion  to  Islam,  New  York:  Homes  &   decisive role in the process of the state   driven by economic and political factors,
 39. Mattulada,  “Islam  di  Sulawesi  Selatan”,  dalam   Meier Publisher, Inc. 1979, p. 129-158  formation or the supra-village pattern   while the “Islamic war” firstly launched
 Taufik Abdullah (ed.) Agama dan Perubahan Sosial,   42. B.  Schrieke,  Indonesia  Sociological  Studies,   central authority, while the second is a   by Gowa-Tallo to all other kingdoms in
 Jakarta: Rajawali Press, 1983, hal 237-244.  Part II, The Hague-Bandung: W. van Hoeve, 1955.
 40. JJ.  Ras,  Hikayat  Banjar,  The  Hague:  Martinus   43. J.C.  van  Leur,  Indonesian  Trade  and  Society,   condition in which Muslims have to face   South Sulawesi has another story. The
 Nijhoff, 1968.  The Hague-Bandung: W. van Hoeve, 1955.  problems of structural accommodation.   grounds for maintaining the tradition that



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